San Marco
It's our last chance to take advantage of 'culture week' here in Florence. A friend has recommended San Marco - onetime residence of Fra' Angelico, Fra' Bartolomeo and the 'mad monk' himself, Savonarola. One of my friends in England was obsessed with this guy, famous for 'the Bonfire of the Vanities'.
San Marco is a church, monastery and museum and the complex turns out to be enormous! On the ground floor is the lovely cloisters, one of the first of the Renaissance, built by Michelozzo when the Slvestrine monks were thrown out and replaced by the Dominicans. There are also several chapels, one dedicated to Fra' Angelic and the other to Fra' Bartolomeo, which has a stunning preparatory drawing, the famous Savonarola portrait and Last Supper by Ghirlandaio. Upstairs is the beautiful Fra' Angelico annunciation and all the old Monk's cells, each with their own Fra' Angelico fresco! Who says Italia Accommodation is lousy? 
An American art historian said of the Fra' Angelico works here; "It is as if all the sugar in the world had been concentrated in one place." Angelico was the typical painter of the transition from the Medieval to Renaissance. We even see Savonarola’s 'double' cell, where he wrote all his damning sermons.
Annette has to rush off to work, but I have some more free time, so decide to check out the Archaeological museum, which is a stone's throw away from piazza San Marco.
TheArchaeological Museum
The museum is spread over 2 floors, the first section is the Egyptian collection, not wildly exciting. However the next section is the Etruscan, Greek and Roman period and contains many exquisite bronze statues and figures. Showcasing the extraordinary skills in sculpting and casting of bronze that the relatively unknown Etruscans had.
The Chimera is mesmerizing, part lion part goat and part snake. Very impressive too, is a huge bronze Minerva, which is a Roman copy of a statue by Praxiteles and Idolino, an athletic youth from the 5th century B.C. and the Orator, an Etruscan/Roman piece from the 1st century B.C. There are also many Etruscan funerary sculptures and a marble sarcophagus of the Amazons and an alabaster Etruscan sarcophagus.
The second floor also houses an important collection of Greek Attic vases. The most valuable ad impressive being the famous 'Francoise vase' from 570 B.C.and depicting the life of Achilles.
So a very successful afternoon and all for free!!!
With this entry, my 1st Tuscan/Italian journal came to an end.
As of May 2010 I have filled 20 books with my tales of Tuscan and Italian life, so plenty more cultural discoveries to go!
On to book 2?
(Original journal 19/4/02)
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